THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NY & NJ

Press Release Article

Foreign Auto Preparation Service given eight days to meet its financial obligations

The Port Authority today began a process to collect $2.8 million in rent and fees dating back to the spring of 2011 that a major auto processor in the Port of New York and New Jersey owes.

The Port Authority informed Foreign Auto Preparation Service, known as FAPS – the largest processor of imported foreign vehicles in the port – that it would use the company’s $2.4 million security deposit to cover a portion of the money owed to the agency. FAPS will have eight days to replenish its security deposit or the company will be in violation of its lease with the Port Authority.

FAPS has demonstrated persistent ongoing failure to pay their rent and fees, despite ongoing discussions with Port Authority starting in 2011. The company has been a tenant at Port Newark since 1956. It operates on 119 acres and serves between nine and thirteen foreign and domestic auto manufacturers.

“Over the past year, the Port Authority has taken significant steps to improve the way this agency conducts its business,” said Port Authority Chairman David Samson. “We, as stewards of public funds, have a responsibility to insist upon, and pursue, all available remedies to recover monies owed to us. In this case, we have a definite and certain obligation with our tenant, set forth in a written agreement, and are taking the necessary action to ensure we receive payment.”

“There is a new way of doing business at the Port Authority, and this kind of behavior will no longer be tolerated,” said Port Authority Vice Chairman Scott Rechler. “It is extremely unfair to the dozens of tenants at our airport and port facilities who routinely pay their rent when one tenant runs up millions of dollars in debt to us.”

“The Port Authority has invested billions in the region’s ports and is poised to invest much more,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye. “We cannot and we will not stand by while Port Authority tenants evade paying millions of dollars in rent. As I’ve said to those who have egregiously failed to pay tolls at our bistate bridges and tunnels, the Port Authority’s leadership is committed to collecting what we are owed.”

“For years, FAPS has failed to meet its financial responsibilities as a tenant at our port, and this practice stops today,” said Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni. “All of our port tenants, and those at our other transportation facilities, are on notice – either pay your bills or find another place to do business.”

The Port Authority is closely monitoring its other port tenants and is prepared to take action against at least one other tenant who is behind on rent payments.

CONTACT: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Steve Coleman, 212 435-7777

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which does not receive tax dollars from either state, operates many of the busiest and most important transportation links in the region. This includes John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, Stewart International and Teterboro airports; AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark; the George Washington Bridge and Bus Station; the Lincoln and Holland tunnels; the three bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey; the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) rapid-transit system; Port Newark; the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal; the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island; the Brooklyn Piers/Red Hook Container Terminal; the Port Authority-Port Jersey Marine Terminal and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan. The agency also owns the 16-acre World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.